Energy Minister Eamon Ryan has announced a plan to install a smart electricity monitoring meter in every home across the country.

The first phase will begin in 2008 with the installation of 25,000 smart meters in varied geographic locations.

The roll-out of the programme will be coordinated by the Commission for Energy Regulation with input from ESB Networks and Sustainable Energy Ireland.

Energy Minister Ryan said: "Currently, people do not know how much electricity they are purchasing at any given time of the day, or at what price. Smart meters have been likened to fuel gauges in cars. It is time that people become aware, through a device in their homes, of the electricity they use and how much it will cost."

It is hoped smart meters will help customers to manage their electricity usage much more efficiently leading to a reduction in both carbon emissions and electricity bills. They will also equip electricity suppliers with real-time information in addition to more accurate billing for the customer.

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Ryan added: "The Power of One Street families showed us that the smart use of energy helped saved each family an average of €500 over six months. The families also reduced their carbon emissions by an average of three tonnes. These are significant savings both for householders’ pockets and for the environment. Every home in Ireland can now be a Power of One home with the installation of these smart meters."

The CER will kick start the programme by publishing the implementation framework for nationwide Smart Metering. Cost implications and technical installation issues for the national rollout will be addressed as the pilot programme for the first 25,000 homes is set up.

ESB Networks expressed confidence that the project announced today will provide a firm basis for a national rollout in the coming years.

ESB Chief Executive, Padraig McManus, said: "Energy cost-cutting and energy efficiency are integral parts of how Ireland can reduce its fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Smart metering is an ambitious project and is, in ESB's view, a required investment in our future. We are looking forward to working with the Minister, the Department and the Energy Regulator in its implementation."

Smart meters are capable of several functions that cannot be carried out by traditional electricity meters. These new features include the storage and two way communication between supplier and consumer of electricity consumption data by time of use, communication to a visual display which can be easily located in a readily accessible location in a person's home and the ability to recording exported units of electricity as well as electricity consumed.

Smart meter's can also switch between credit and debit modes of operation without the need for manual intervention.

(GK/JM)